Feeding mechanism



Deco 1943. G, ERICKSON ET AL 3 5 FEEDING MECHANISM Filed July 10, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l vfgg ig/ g EQE? I6 i 5 I INVENTORS: F1111 GUSTAF ERIBKSON, CHARLES F. SHEELEY,

THEIR ATTOR NEYG Dec.14,1943. ERC N ETAL 2,336,676

FEEDING MECHANISM Filed July 10, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVE NTOR-SI GUSTAF ERICKSON, CHARLES E SHEELEY,

/W4%Ma THEIR ATTORNEY,

Patented Dec. 14, 1943 Gustaf Erickson,

Sheeley, Belleville,

River Edge and Charles F. N. .L, assignorl to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware 1 Application July 10, 1941, Serial No. 401,818

24 Claims. This invention relates to feeding mechanisms and particularly to a feeding mechanism for tapered rollers.

' When short tapered rollers, wherein the length of each roller does not greatly exceed its larger diameter, are delivered from a hopper into a feed tube, these rollers not only tend to jam at the entrance of the feed tube, but they may also be delivered either end foremost. In the delivery of tapered rollers to gauging devices and to bearing assembling machines, it is often important that these rollers be delivered successively and rapidly small end first.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a simple feeding mechanism that will not jam and which will deliver tapered rollers at a controlled rate from a loosely jumbled source of supply to a desired position in stacked end to end supported relation with the smaller ends of the rollers foremost. A further object is to provide a feeding mechanism for delivering articles in a continuous stream from a source of supply and which will temporarily cut ofi this source of supply whenever these articles being delivered accumulate too fast.

To these ends and also to improve generally upon devices of the character indicated, the in vention consists in the various matters hereinafter described and claimed. In its broader aspects the invention is not necessarily limited to the specific constructions selected for illustrative purposes in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a front elevation with some parts broken away to better illustrate the invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary side elevation;

ing how a tapered roller locates small end downwardly between the feeding wheels.

Generally stated, tapered rollers W, placed in jumbled formation in a hopper i0, are directed from this hopper downwardly through a feed tube or guide l2 to an escapement latch generally indicated at l3, which individually and successively releases the tapered rollers into depending laterally supported relation between the inner peripheral edges of a pair of spaced rotating feed wheels I! and I that are arranged to Figure 3 is an exploded view of the feed wheels and associated parts;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the escapement latch in lowest roller supporting position;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the escapement latch in the next to lowest roller supporting position;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of the escapement latch operating mechanism and the feed limiting mechanism;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary view showing how a predetermined accumulation of rollers hold the escapement latch in a non-feeding position;

Figure 8 is a fragmentary view of the roller tilting pawl and associated parts;

Figure 9 is a fragmentary perspective view of the hopper feed; and

Figure 10 is a fragmentary sectional view showg the upper ends locate these tapered rollers small end downwardly and then deliver them small end forement into an outlet tube l6. In the event that the rollers W are restricted in their movements from the outlet tube, accumulation of these rollers to a certain point causes one of the rollers to engage a limiting mechanism, generally indicated at ll, which prevents feeding operation of the escapement latch l8 so that delivery of the tapered rollers W to the feed wheels is temporarily stopped until the accumulated rollers again start feeding through the outlet tube' l6.

Referring to the illustrated embodiment, an upright tubular post 20, mounted on a suitable base (not shown), has a reduced upper end that receives and supports the lower flanged end 2i of the hopper iii. A bushing 24, secured withinthe upper end of the post 20 and adjacent to the lower flanged end 2i, has a bore 25 aligned with a bore 26 through the bottom of the hopper, and the upper end of the feed tube l2, which is slotted at 21, is supported in the bore 25. In axial alignment with the upper end of the tube I2 is an upper movable tube portion of the same size as the tube i2 and composed of a pair of similar complementary segments 28 which vertically slide within the bores 26 and 2B and which also slidably and longitudinally engage each other. The lower end of each segment 28 has tongues 29 slidably received within the tube slots 21, and of the tube l2 and segments 28 are internally rounded at to aid in guiding a roller W past the tube ends. are alternately moved up and down by studs 32 respectively secured at their inner ends to the segments and laterally extending outwardly for vertical movement in vertical slots 33 through the hopper flange 2i and the post 20. Links 34, pivoted at their upper ends to the studs 32, are journalled at their lower ends on the diametrical opposed crank arms and 35 of a crank shaft rotatably mounted in' a support 31 fastened on the post 20 and driven by a crank shaft pulley 38 belt-connected to a pulley on a motor 39 fas- The segments 28 shown in Fig. 10.

tened to a motor bracket secured to the post 20. In the feeding of successive tapered rollers W endwise into the tube l2, each time that one of the sections 28 is raised and the other section 28 is lowered (Figure 2) one of the rollers W in the bottom of the hopper will slide over the rounded edge 80 of the lower segment and into the tube. V

The lower end of the feed tube I2 is fastened in a bore 43 extending downwardly through a terminal block 44 seated on the top face 46 of a laterally projecting generally rectangular portion 46 of an escapement bracket having a foot 41 secured as by screws to the upper portion of a mounting bracket 48 that is fastened on the post 20. This terminal block has locating ears 48 overhanging the top of the projecting portion 48, and thumb nuts and screws co-operatively serve to demountably fasten the terminal block 44 to the escapement bracket so that easy access may be had to rollers W in the lower end of the tube i2 and in the feeding mechanism. A recess 50 is provided between the projecting portion 46 and the foot 41. and a guide chute i issecured within this recess to form a grooved partially continuing wall of the tube i2 and which guides the rollers W from the escapement latch it into a laterally supported position between the inner spaced peripheral edges of the rotating feed wheels i4 and i6 which serve as a carrier for the rollers. A shaft 62 journalled in the escapement bracket extends across the recess 68 and has a latch block 53 secured thereto for a back and forth escapement rocking movement within the recess 60 towards andfrom the chute 6i and between the positions of Figures 4 and 5. An escapement plunger 54, slidable within a bore in the latch block 68, has a roller engaging,head 55 at its .inner end which is urged away from the latch block and towards a roller clamping position by a spring 56 seated within a counterbore in the latch block. A pair of lock nuts on the outer end of the plunger 84 secure it in position and adjustably limit the movement of the head 55 out of the latch block 63.

The .latch block rocking movement is con trolled by a depending trip lever 68 clamped at its upper end to the shaft 62 and having a lower end which extends downwardly into the path of a series of sleeves 88 rotatable on arcuately spaced pins '6i laterally projecting from the rotating feed wheels l4 and secured at their outer ends to a ring 62. The weight of this trip lever 68 aided by a coiled spring I" to be later described, tends to normally swing the latch block 53 to the position of Fig. 4 wherein the lowermost roller W of the stack in the feed tube H has slid down the chute 6i past the now withdrawn head 56 and into supported engagement on a shoulder 64 in the latch block 63. As the feed wheels i4 and i5 advance in the indicated clockwise direction, the next sleeve 60 engages and swings the bottom of the trip lever 68 upwardly which rocks the latch block 63, towards the position of Fig. 5 whereupon the spring pressed head 65 first yielda-bly clamps against the supports the next to the bottom roller in the chute 6| after which the passes from beneath the trip lever 58, this trip lever again swings downwardly and rocks the latch block 63-, back to the position of Fig. 4

wherein the roller W previously supported by the ,7,

head 66 isreleased and drops into supported engagement on the shoulder 64, and this results in a corresponding downward feed of the entire stack of rollers thereabove. This back and forth escapement rocking movement of the escapement latch l8 serves to individually and successively deliver the tapered rollers W in spaced relation to the feed wheels l4 and 16 which direct these rollers into a chute 66 from which they enter the outlet tube i6.

The feed wheel 16 is keyed to the end of a shaft 81 rotatably journalled in the mounting bracket 48 and driven by a motor 68 through suitable reduction mechanism including a shaft 69 and intermeshed bevelled gears 12 and 13. This feed wheel i5 is axially located by a cylindrical plug having a portion of reduced diameter seated within this feed wheel bore and held against the end of the shaft 61 by a screw, while a hub portion 14 of enlarged diameter laterally projects from a laterally projecting hub 15 on the feed wheel i5, these hubs l4 and i5 being respectively received within a bore 16 and a counterbore ii to co-operatively. support the feed wheel i4.

Surrounding the counterbore H are annularly disposed and peripherally spaced laterally projecting segments i8 each of which presents a flat face in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the feed wheels and opposed to the feed wheel i5. Adjacent to the periphery of the hub it for selective engagement with these flat segment faces are uniformly spaced wheel spacers as the three wheels spacers 86 located 120 apart and which generally appear as blocks projecting from the side of the feed wheel i6 towards the feed -,wheel it and having flat segment engaging faces lying in a. plane perpendicular to the axis of feed wheel rotation. The segments 18 project laterally through different extents from the feed wheel 84, and each group of segments correspondingly positioned to the uniformly spaced wheel spacers 80 laterally projects to thesame extent from the feed wheel i4. These wheel spacers 8U laterally project sufiiciently to prevent bottoming of the further rocking of the latch block to the final position of Fig. 5 withdraws the shoulder 64 from bottom roller supporting engagement so that the bottom roller is released and slides down the chute 6! onto the rotating feed wheels l4 and it which are so spaced as to locate and support each roller W small end downwardly as When a rotatable sleeve 68 hub 16 within the counterbore 'i'l. A series of uniformly spaced screws, as the six screws 8i passing through the feed wheel i i, are detachably threaded in the feed wheel i5 so that the feed wheels l4 and I6 may be secured in adjusted spaced relation by prelocating the desired segments 18 against the wheel spacers 80. This precise wheel spacing is desirable so that the machine may be adapted to feeding tapered rollers 01 different sizes. Also, since the tapered rollers W dropped from the chute 5| onto the feed wheels may land either end uppermost, each of these tapered rollers must be supported by the feed wheels above its center of gravity so that it will gfi itself turn small end downwardly as shown in A stabilizer 84, pivotally secured by a screw to the mounting bracket 48, has an arcuate finger 86 projecting between the upper portions of the feed wheels l4 and i5. Adjustment screws 81 threaded in the outer end of the stabilizer engage the mounting bracket 48 and tiltably position this stabilizer so that a curved upper surface 68 of the finger 86 which extends from beneath the chute 6| in a wheel feeding direction. lies slightly beneath the smaller end of a feed wheels will aaaaevc roller when this roller is correctly supported by the feed wheels beneath the chute II. When a tapered roller W lands large end downwardly on the feed wheels I4 and I6, the advance of these tilt the roller so that it will turn over endwise to its small end downward position, turned over will be quickly stopped by th gagement of the periphery of the small roller end against the surface 88 which guides the roller into proper feed wheel supported relation. If desired, sheet metal guards may be placed on each side of the chute 6| in spaced overlying relation to the top portions of the feed wheels to aid the rollers in landing from the chute in proper feed wheel supported relation. These guards are not illustrated as they would obstruct the showing of other mechanism.

A pawl 90, pivoted on a stud 9| in-the mounting bracket 46, is arranged to swing towards and from the feed wheels, and is normally gravity-urged downwardly to the position of Fig. 1 wherein an adjustment screw 92 rests on a guide plate 94 that is secured to the mounting bracket 46 in front of the feed wheels and which has-a curved face 85 that forms the outer wall of the curved upper end of the chute 66. As a taper roller W is advanced by the feed wheels just beyond the finger 86, the upwardly projecting enlarged roller end is first engaged by a screw 86 adjustably projecting downwardly through the pawl and the roller is tilted small end forwardly (Fig. 1), and immediately afterward a depending pawl ear 91! at the entrance to the chute 66 encounters this tilted roller so that the pawl isfurther tilted to the position of Fig. 8 and the roller is directed small end foremost into the chute 65. This tilting movement is also aided by the roller itself since the center of gravity of the roller which lies well below the feed wheel peripheries tends to initially start each roller tilting in the desired direction as the feed wheel supported rollers are advanced downwardly towards the pawl 90. The escapement latch I3 delivers the tapered rollers W to the feed wheels in sufi'lciently spaced relation so that after a roller passes the ear 91, the pawl 90 will again drop to the position of Fig. 1 before the next roller is tilted by the screw 96. The screws 92 and 96 are adjustable to accommodate the pawl for tilting rollers of different sizes, and lock nuts secure these screws in their adjusted positions.

A guide block 68 is secured as by screws beneath the guide plate 90 and forwardly of the feed wheels I and I5. The lower end of this guide block is bored at IOI to receive the outlet tube I6 secured in position by a set screw. The bore IOI opens into a recess I02 in the lower end of the chute 65 which is provided with a forward vertical wall I03 that forms part of the lower end of the delivery chute 65. This vertical wall aids in directing rollers W into the outlet tube I6 and merges at its upper end with the lower end of the curved face 95 of the chute 65. An elongated guide plate I04, adjustably secured as by a screw I 05 at its lower end within the recess I02, extends upwardly between the feed wheels and has an upper curved face merging with a lower vertical face to form a chute wall I06 spaced from the chute walls 95 and I03. The upper side walls of the chute 65 are formed by the spaced feed wheels as indicated in Fig. 1, while the spaced sides of the recess I02 in the guide block 98 aid in laterally guiding the rollers W into the outlet tube I6 after the rollers leave the feed wheels.

and the rocking of this roller after it has threaded through the pawl Occasionally roller receiving devices, such as gauging mechanisms and bearing assembling devices, to which the outlet end of the outlet tube I6 may be attached, do not accept the rollers as fast as they tend to be normally fed by the escapement latch I3, and this causes the rollers to accumulate in end to end stacked relation in the outlet tube I 6 and in the lower end of the chute 65. To prevent clogging of the feed mechanism, when this accumulation oi. rollers reaches a certain height in the chute 66, the limiting mechanism I1 is restricted in its movement by. one of these stacked rollers W to temporarily lockthe escapement latch I3 in a non-feeding positionuntil the rollers again start feeding through the outlet tube I6. To accomplish into a latch block recess, is pivoted at one end by a pin I I I to the latch block 68, and is pivotally connected at its other end by a pin II2 to a longitudinally oscillatable slide I I8 that is slidable towards and from the escapement latch I8 in a casing I I5 having a cover in the casing H6 is compressed against a pin H6 in the slide M3 to resiliently urge the escapement latch Iii-towards the position of Fig. 4 and to swing the trip lever 58 downwardly into the path of the sleeves 60. and this spring is sufilciently yieldable to permit the escapement latch I3 to the position of Fig. 5. The right hand end of the slide II3, as viewed in Figs. 1 and 6, projects beyond the casing H6 and is bored to rigidly receive the upper end of a depending rod I26 secured in vertically'adjusted position by a set screw I2I. IA control member or limit screw I24, adjustably threaded in the lower end of the rod I20 and secured in adjusted position by a locknut, laterally projects freely through a bore I25 in the block 98 for movement into and out of roller obstructing position in the chute under control of the escapement movement of the escapement latch I3. This limit screw is so adjusted that it extends into and obstructs feeding of rollers in the lower end of the chute 65 (Fig. 1) each time that the escapement latch is'rocked to its lower roller supporting popast this limit screw into the Whenever rollers W are restricted in their movement from the outlet tube I6 and stack up into the chute 65 to a position adjacent the limit screw I24 as shown in Fig. 7, one of the rollers locates between the limit screw and th chute wall I06 and prevents the normal inward movement of the limit screw iM past an intermediate position of its stroke to its maximum inward position of Fig. 1. In this roller-engaged position of the limit screw. the slide H3 and link IIO cannot move inwardly far enough to permit the springpressed head 65 to withdraw from the roller W supported by this head. Consequently, the feed of rollers-past the escapement latch is stopped. While the limit screw I20 remains in the intermediate roller-engaged position of Fig. 7, the latch block 53 lies between the positions of Figs. 4 and 5, and the trip lever 58 is located in the path of the sleeves 60. As each sleeve 60 successively engages the lower end of the trip lever 58 while the rollers W remain stacked into the chute 65 as shown in Fig. 7, the yieldability of the plunger spring 56 permits the latch block 53 to swing to this, a'link IIO, extending rocking movement of the the position of Fig. 5 while the rollers W are still held by! the head 55 in non-feeding relation. Also, each time that the latch block 53 is rocked to the position of Fig. 5, the limit screw I24 is withdrawn from roller engagement and into the bore I25 so that the limit screw engaged roller is periodically released and may drop past the limit screw when the rollers again start feeding into the outlet tube [5. When the limit screw is not restricted in its movement by a roller W in the chute 65, the limiting mechanism I! again permits the escapement latch l3 to resume its normal roller feeding movement.

We claim:

1. A roller feeding device comprising a pair of'spaced members for co-operatively supporting rollers therebetween, .means to move said members in unison for transporting said rollers, a guide for receiving a stack of rollers in superposed relation above said spaced members, an escapement latch tiltable back and forth into alternate supporting engagement with the rollers at the two lowest roller positions of said stack, a depending lever secured near its upper end to said latch and gravity-urging the latch into one of its roller supporting positions, and spaced elements movable with one of said spaced members, said elements successively engaging and shifting the lever during the movement of the roller supporting members to intermittently shift the escapement latch to said other roller supporting position whereby rollers will be successively delivered in spaced relation onto the roller supporting members.

2. In a feeding device for rollers, a pair of rotatable members having spaced annular peripheries for co-operatively supporting rollers therebetween, means to rotate said members in unison for transporting rollers, a guide for receiving a'stack of rollers in superposed relation above said members, an escapement latch tiltable into alternate supporting engagement with rollers at the two lowest roller positions of said stack, an annular series of spaced elements projecting from one of said rotatable members, a lever secured near its upper end to said escapement latch and having a lower end in the path of movement of said elements, the lever gravityurging said latch into its lowermost roller supporting position, and said elements successively engaging and releasing the lever during the rotation of the roller supporting members to intermittently shift the escapement latch to its other roller supporting position whereby rollers will be successively delivered in spaced relation onto said peripheries.

3. In a feeding mechanism for rollers, a pair of rotatable feed wheels spaced to laterally support tapered rollers in depending relation therebetween, means guiding a stack of tapered rollers downwardly in end to end supported relation onto said feed wheels, an escapement latch mounted for rocking movement into alternate supporting engagement with the rollers in. the two lowest positions of said stack, a downwardly extending lever connected to said escapement latch and urging the latch into one of its roller supporting positions, and spaced pins secured to and laterally extending from one of said feed wheels and operativelyengageable with said lever and causing said lever to rock the escapement latch to its other roller supporting position and individually release rollers onto the feed wheels in spaced relation.

4. In a feeding pair of feed wheels rotatable about a substantially horizontal axis, spaced inner peripheral edges on said feed wheels for supporting tapered rollers in small end downwardly depending relation therebetween, a discharge chute for receiving the tapered rollers from said feed wheels,

means to deliver tapered rollers onto said peripheral edges, mechanism to rotate said feed wheels, 9. member pivotally mounted above said feed wheels, a depending portion on said member arranged to engage and tiltably direct said feed wheel supported rollers into said chute, and means to adiustably locate the roller engaging position of said member.

5. In a feeding device for tapered rollers, a carrier having spaced portions for co-operatively supporting tapered rollers small end downwardly, feeding mechanism for delivering tapered rollers onto said carrier, a roller receiving chute, means to move said carrier to transport the rollers from the feeding mechanism and into said chute, and a member having a plurality of spaced roller engaging portions which successively and co-operatively engage each roller to tilt it into small end forwardly entering relation with said chute.

6. In a feeding device for tapered rollers, a pair of spaced feed wheels rotatable about a substantially horizontal axis, said feed wheels being arranged to co-operatively support tapered rollers between their ends and in depending relation therebetween, means to rotate said feed wheels to transport said rollers to a discharge position, a pivotally mounted member above said feed wheels and in the path of the roller transported movement, a plurality of depending portions on said member for tilting the feed wheel supported rollers small end foremost at said discharge position, and means for adjusting at least one of said depending portions towards and from a roller engaging position.

'7. In a feeding device for tapered rollers, a pair of spaced feed wheels rotatable about a substantially horizontal axis, said feed wheels being arranged to co-operatively support tapered rollers between their ends and in depending relation therebetween, means to rotate said feed wheels to transport said rollers to a discharge position, a pawl pivotally mounted above said feed wheels, a screw adjustably extending from the pawl into the path of the tapered rollers carried by said feed wheels, a depending p rtion on said pawl engageable with said tapered rollers, said screw and depending portion co-operatively tilting the tapered rollers small end foremost at said discharge position, and means to adjustably position said pawl for controlling the position to which said rollers are tilted.

8. In a feeding device for rollers, a pair of spaced feed wheels arranged to receive and support rollers therebetween, means to rotate said feed wheels, a. chute for receiving rollers from said feed wheels, feeding mechanism for delivering rollers onto said feed wheels, and a limiting mechanism which-renders the feeding movement of said feeding mechanism ineffective in response to an accumulation of rollers in said chute to a predetermined position.

9. In a feeding device, an escapement mechanism for feeding articles individually, means to operate said escapement mechanism, an article receiving chute spaced from the escapement mechanism, a carrier for delivering articles from the escapement mechanism and into said chute,

device for tapered rollers, a 555 a control member, means intermittently moving determined accumulation of ing mechanism ineffective aseaere able feed wheels arranged to receive andsupport a chute for receiving rollthe control member into and out of the path of articles. passing through said chute, and said controlimember rendering the feeding movement of the escapement mechanism ineffective whenever an accumulation of articles in said chute restricts the movement of said control member into the chute.

10. In a feeding device for rollers, a pair of spaced feed wheels arranged to receive and support rollers therebetween, means to rotate said feed wheels, a chute for receiving rollers from said feed wheels, feed wheel actuated mechanism for delivering rollers onto said feed wheels, and a limiting mechanism responsive to a prerollers in said chute for rendering the feeding operation of said feeduntil said predetermined roller accumulation is diminished.

11. In a feeding device, a feeding tube for re= ceiving articles in stacked formation, an escapement mechanism for releasing articles from said stack, an article receiving chute spaced from the escapement mechanism, means to deliver said articles from the escapement mechanism into said chute, a movable member for engaging one of said articles at a predetermined position in said chute, and a spring urged element in the escapement mechanism and controlled by said movable member to maintain contact with and prevent the release of one of the articles at the lower end of said stack when one of the articles in said chute reaches said predetermined position and restricts the inward movement of said movable member.

12. In a device of the character indicated, a roller feeding mechanism, means to intermittently operate said feeding mechanism, a chute for receiving rollers from said feeding mechanism, a slide operatively connected at one end to said feeding mechanism, a spring engaging the slide and tending to shift the feeding mechanism to a feeding position, a rod rigidly secured to the other end of said slide in depending relation, and a plunger laterally projecting from said rod for movement into and out of the path of as the rollers in said chute under control of said feeding mechanism, said plunger engaging a roller in said chute and rendering the feeding movement of the feeding mechanism ineffective whenever rollers accumulate to a predetermined 60 position in said chute.

13. In a device of the character indicated, a pair of rotatably driven feed wheels arranged to receive and transport rollers, a feeding mechanism for discharging rollers onto said feed wheels, a downwardly extending chute for receiving rollers from said feed wheels and hav= ing an aperture through one side thereof, means to intermittently operate said feeding mechanism, a slidably mounted member oscillated by said feeding mechanism, a spring engaging said member and tending to shift the feeding mechanism to a feeding position, a downwardly extending rod rigidly secured at its upper end to said member, and a plunger adjustably secured to and laterally projecting from the lower end of said rod into said aperture for movement into and out of said chute under control of the feeding mechanism, said plunger being so adjusted that it will be engaged by a roller in the chute and will render the feeding operation of said feeding mechanism ineffective whenever rollers accumulate in the chute to a predetermined position.

14. In a roller feeding device, a pair of rotatrollers therebetween, ers from said feed wheels. a periodically aotuated escapement mechanism for feeding rollers individually onto said feed wheels in spaced relation, a member periodically moved by the escapement mechanism into and out of the path of the rollers in said chute, and said member engaging one of the rollers in said chute and preventing roller feeding by the escapement mechanism whenever said rollers accumulate to a predetermined extent in said chute.

15. In a feeding device for tapered rollers, a

pair of spaced feed wheels arranged to laterally support ta ered rollers therebetween with each of said rollers directed small end downwardly, a chute for receiving tapered rollers endwise from said wheels, feeding mechanism for individually delivering tapered rollers endwise and in spaced relation onto said feed wheels, means to rotate said feed wheels to transport the tapered rollers from beneath the feeding mechanism and into said chute, and mechanism controlled by one of the tapered rollers in said chute for rendering the feed of said feed mechanism ineffective whenever the tapered rollers accumulate to a predetermined position in said chute.

16. In a feeding device for tapered rollers, a pair of feed wheels rotatable about a substantially horizontal axis, spaced inner peripheral edges on said feed wheels for laterally supporting tapered rollers in small end downwardly depending relation therebetween, feeding mechanism for individually delivering tapered rollers endwise and in spaced relation onto said peripheral edges, a roller receiving chute, mechanism to rotate the feed wheels to transport said tapered rollers from beneath the feeding mechanism into said chute, means successively tilting each feed wheel transported roller so that said tapered rollers enter small end foremost into said chute, and feed mechanism regulating means controlled by an accumulation of tapered rollers in said chute.

17. In a feeding device for tapered rollers, a pair of rotatable feed wheels having spaced peripheral edges arranged to co-operatively support tapered rollers in small end downwardly depending relation therebetween, a feeding mechanism for individually delivering tapered rollers from a source of supply onto said peripheral edges in spaced relation, means to operate the feeding mechanism in timed relation with the feed wheel rotation, a chute for receiving said rollers endwise from said wheels, a member above said feed wheels and tiltably directing each of the feed wheel supported rollers successively and small end foremost into said chute, and a limiting mechaniesm for rendering the feeding operation of the feeding mechanism ineifective whenever the tapered rollers accumulate to a predetermined position in said chute, said limiting mechanism holding the feedmechanism inoperative only during said accumulation of rollers in the chute.

18. In a feeding device for tapered rollers, a downwardly inclined tube arranged to guide a stack of rollers in end to end supported relation for gravity feeding, a latch block at the lower end of said tube, a shoulder on the lower end of the latch block for releasable engagement with a roller in the lowest position of said stack, a spring pressed plunger movably mounted in the upper end of the latch block and releasably engageable laterally against the rolleragainst in the next to said lowest position,v means to repeatedly rock said latch block back and forth with an escapement movement in such manner that the rollers in the said two lowest positions are successively released, and mechanism arranged to receive the rollers from said latch block and to discharge said rollers endwise with their smaller end directed foremost.

19. In a feeding device for rollers, chute for guiding a stack of rollers downwardly in end to end supported relation, a latch block mounted for an escapement rocking movement towards and from the two lowest roller positions alternately, mechanism to produce said rocking movement, a' shoulder onthe lower end of said block for releasably supporting a roller in the lowest position, a plunger slidably mounted in the upper end of said block for movement towards and from said stack to releasably clamp the next to said lowest roller under control of said latch block rocking movement, a spring urging said plunger towards a yieldable roller engaging position, and means limiting the plunger movement in the latch block so that the rocking of said latch block presents the plunger in roller supporting engagement Just prior to withdrawal of said shoulder to a roller releasing position and said plunger remains in its roller supporting engagement only until the rocking of said latch block initially enters said shoulder into its rollersupporting position.

20. In a feeding device for tapered rollers, a

pair of rotatable feed wheels, spaced inner peadiustably an inclined ripheral edges on said wheels for co-operatively supporting tapered rollers therebetween in small end downwardly depending relation, and a stabilizing member spaced between said feed wheels and closely beneath the lower ends 'of said rollers to prevent swinging or said rollers in their feed wheel supported positions.

21. In a feeding device for tapered rollers, a pair of rotatable feed wheels, spaced inner peripheral edges on said wheels for cooperative- 1y supporting tapered rollers therebetween in small end downwardly depending relation, a stabiliz'ing ringer having an arcuate roller engaging surface between the feed wheels and below the feed wheel supported rollers, and means to adjustably position said finger so that said roller engaging surface will restrict rocking movement of the feed wheel supported rollers.

22. In a feeding device for rollers, a pair of feed wheels in predetermined laterally spaced relation.

23. In a feeding device for rollers, a pair of coaxially mounted feed wheels, annularly disposed spacer members laterally projecting from one of said feed wheels towards said other feed wheel, said spacer members having outer end faces located in a plane perpendicular to the axis of said feed wheels, a multiplicity of annularly disposed segments laterally projecting in spaced relation and through different extents from said other feed wheel for selective engagement with said spacer members, each group of segments correspondingly positioned to said spacer members having outer end faces located in a plane perpendicular to the axis of said feed wheels. and means to removably secure said wheels together in any of said selectively engaged positions.

24. In a feeding device, a member for guiding a stack of superposed articles downwardly for gravity feeding, a latch block mounted for a repeated escapement rocking movement towards and from the positions of the lowest article and an article higher up in said stack, a shoulder on said block for releasable supporting engagement with an article in said lowest-position, an article engaging member yieldably mounted in the latch block above said shoulder for releasable clamping engagement against the article in said higher up position, a gravity-urged lever tending to swing the latch block to one of its article supporting positions,'and means successively engageable with said lever for swinging the latch block to its other article supporting position.

GUSTAF ERICKSON. CHARLES F. SHEELEY. 

